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T O P I C R E V I E W

cspg

The Race for Space: A Human OdysseyMP3 Editorial Ltd

The illustrated story of space exploration

From Sputnik and Yuri Gagarin to Mercury and Gemini...

From the triumphs of the Apollo Moon landings to the twin tragedies of the Shuttles Challenger and Columbia…

From Skylab and Mir to the International Space Station...

Race for Space is the most exciting illustrated history of spaceflight ever published.

garymilgrom

These appear to be 12 magazine-style publications. From their website it seems they are concentrating on graphics and layout to achieve a pleasing look -like most magazines- and not on in-depth flight data. There are no authors given at this point, and they say on their home page that "Some dates (in the series) may be in dispute". If that's publication dates I understand, but if it refers to mission or similar dates in the text it's a warning to me about the research that has gone into these publications.

This does not sound like an authoritative series, maybe more like a child's introduction to a history of manned spaceflight.

Perhaps we'll find out more once people receive a copy and post their reviews.

quote:Originally posted by garymilgrom:There are no authors given at this point, and they say on their home page that "Some dates (in the series) may be in dispute".

My understanding is that you have the 12 books on one hand and an online resource (The Race for Space Timeline) on the other, the latter being something that can be updated regularly.

cspg

quote:Originally posted by garymilgrom: This does not sound like an authoritative series, maybe more like a child's introduction to a history of manned spaceflight.

At 1,200 pages and $300, that's a pretty expensive "introduction"!

Steve Procter

The website does list some names:

David Baker

Robin Scagill

Anatoly Zak

Sean Blair

cspg

The series has been revamped into a 6-volume set, both in print and digital format. Check out their website for details.

arjuna

I ordered the first three volumes before they had problems with their business publishing model (like a great many other publishers running the gamut from newspapers to magazines to books - such is the digital revolution).

I can say that the first three volumes are very well-produced, professional, and the graphics are excellent - including many photos and illustrations that I haven't seen before (or at least they aren't the typical ones - they went out of their way to find unique ways to tell a visual story). The text is also well-written and balanced between the Soviet and American programs. While these aren't scholarly publications, they aren't intended to be; but they certainly are not oriented to children either. If you want flight data, there are books for that - but that would make for dry magazine reading indeed, and won't excite anyone who isn't already a space nerd. (No offense Gary, I'm including myself in that category.)

These publications really are very well done, and in fact I don't know why these haven't received more attention from the community.

So I really did like the first three in the series, and was disappointed (but understood) the 6 month delay while they re-tooled. And I was very pleased to get an email from him this week announcing that the next 3 volumes (i.e. Vol. 1 - 6) are soon to be published, albeit in a different sized format (and via on-demand publishing). I can't say anything about these new print runs, but if the high quality of the first three is any indication, I think people will be very pleased. I certainly intend to order the full set.

These are space enthusiast/collector-oriented, visual synoptic publications and they hit the target very well.

jjknap

While I really like printed material, I am considering the digital versions, as the price is much lower and they promise more multimedia content. Has anyone purchased the digital version?

cspg

quote:Originally posted by arjuna:And I was very pleased to get an email from him this week announcing that the next 3 volumes (i.e. Vol. 1 - 6) are soon to be published, albeit in a different sized format (and via on-demand publishing).

The email said that the on-demand publishing (via Lulu.com) is a temporary solution. Apparently a new printer has been found.

As for the remaining volumes (7 through 12), it will depend on how well this new reissue goes, hopefully for the best. I agree with "arjuna"'s comments.

Robert Pearlman

The eBook edition of The Race for Space series is now available for iPad on the Apple iBooks store. The original six-part series has been reworked as 12 multitouch eBooks, each with videos and other interactive elements.

Part 1 is free to download.

mode1charlie

I ordered the full set of these e-books (really a misnomer, since as Robert pointed out, they include embedded video of launches, capsule footage, etc). They are really well done and I can't recommend them highly enough. Even better than the printed versions.

Robert Pearlman

quote:Originally posted by mode1charlie:since as Robert pointed out

Credit, where credit is due. My thanks to Chris (cspg) for the heads-up and forwarded release.